March 2, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Ash Wednesday today: The first day of Lent, so called from the Roman Catholic custom of sprinkling on the heads of penitents the consecrated ashes of palms remaining from the previous Palm Sunday.  The custom is of uncertain date but is commonly held to have  been introduced during the pontificate of Gregory the Great (reigned from 590-604 AD).  Lent derives from the Old English lencten, “spring” literally “lengthening”.  The Saxons called March Lenctenmōnath because in this month  the days noticeably lengthen.  As the chief part of the great fast, from Ash Wednesday to Easter, falls in March, it received the name lenctenfœsten or Lent.  The fast of 36 days was introduced in the 4^th century, but it did not become fixed at 40 days until the early 7^th century, thus corresponding with Christ’s fast in the wilderness.

A priest, a rabbit, and a minister walk into a bar.  The rabbit says, I might be a typo.

March 2, 1962: Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks, an NBA record that still stands.  Go to article »
1925: Highway numbers introduced.
1899: Mount Rainier National Park established.
Theodore Geisel, “Dr. Seuss” author, b. 1904.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not. –Dr. Seuss.

Fear less, hope more.  Whine less, breathe more.  Talk less, say more.  Hate less, love more.  And all good things are yours. –Swedish Proverb.

How to talk to your kids about Ukraine, according to psychologists.  It’s not an easy discussion, but a very important one. Here are tips to help your children understand – and open up – about the conflict in Ukraine.

New satellite launches to track Earth’s wild weather and dangerous space storms.  Experts say it has the most sophisticated and sharpest view yet of Earth’s Western Hemisphere – and it can spot wildfires before we do.

New astrobiology research predicts life “ as we don’t know it.” 

The history of the horned rabbit.

Russian oligarchs’ yachts head for the Maldives as sanctions are levied.

Late Show Hosts’ take on Biden’s First Sate of the Union Speech:

“Keep in mind, a week ago, this was going to be a totally different speech. But when Ukraine was invaded, the world changed. Because right now, there is a dictator who thinks he can violently conquer a sovereign democracy, but Joe Biden beat him in the last election.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Not everyone was focused on the speech. Kevin McCarthy was there but busy looking at his phone. To be fair, today’s Wordle was pretty tricky.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Of course the minority leader in the House not paying attention looked disrespectful. But keep in mind, he might’ve been on Amazon shopping for a spine.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“It was a tough speech. Biden said that even though the country is divided right now — right now, we all need to come together and agree that the ‘Sex and the City’ reboot wasn’t anywhere near what we hoped it would be.” — JIMMY KIMMEL
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A woman prepares for a performance during Nyepi, the annual day of silence marking Balinese Hindu new year
CREDIT: Firdia Lisnawati/AP

People gather at Menelik II Square to celebrate the 126th anniversary of Ethiopia’s victory over Italy at the Battle of Adwa
CREDIT: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

MPs in the House of Commons give a standing ovation to the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, who was sitting in the public gallery
CREDIT: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/PA

Market Closes for March 2^nd, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1844, the New York Stock Exchange raised the initiation fee for new members to $400 (or more than $9,400 in modern money).

Ukraine is a stark reminder that market forecasts are garbage, even though they’re made by thoughtful people. — Jared Dillian.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rallied Wednesday after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.
Financial and industrial stocks led the S&P/TSX Composite 1.2% higher in Toronto.
Today, information technology was the only industry group to fall, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 164 of 240 shares rose, while 73 fell.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6%.
Converge Technology Solutions Corp. had the largest percentage increase, rising 6.3%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain nine times. The next day, it advanced six times for an average 0.5% and declined three times for an average 0.3%
* This quarter, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 12% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.5% below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 18.4% above its low on March 4, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.5% in the past 5 days and fell 0.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 14.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.35t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.45% compared with 14.01% in the previous session and the average of 13.55% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 105.1710| 1.5| 25/3
* Industrials | 66.8757| 2.8| 23/7
* Energy | 45.9534| 1.4| 23/9
* Communication Services | 15.8564| 1.5| 6/1
* Consumer Discretionary | 10.5166| 1.5| 11/3
* Consumer Staples | 8.2933| 1.1| 10/1
* Real Estate | 4.9832| 0.8| 19/3
* Materials | 3.9115| 0.1| 23/31
* Health Care | 0.9445| 0.7| 3/4
* Utilities | 0.4575| 0.0| 9/7
* Information Technology | -11.9788| -0.8| 12/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* TD Bank | 32.2500| 2.6| -15.3| 4.7
* Canadian National | 25.4800| 4.0| 28.0| 1.6
* Canadian Pacific | 24.6600| 4.4| 21.2| 0.9
* Wheaton Precious Metals | -3.7380| -2.1| -0.2| 5.4
* Barrick Gold | -7.8050| -2.1| 0.6| 21.6
* Shopify | -19.0700| -2.9| -7.8| -52.1

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy is expanding with enough force to withstand rate hikes while pledging to be judicious in removing stimulus.
More than 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 advanced, with financial, material and energy shares leading the charge.
Two-year Treasury yields surpassed 1.5%, up from as little as 1.26% on Tuesday.
Global commodity markets surged to multiyear highs after traders backed away from Russia, sparking anxiety that supply will fall short in everything from wheat to natural gas.
Oil topped $110 a barrel.
Powell said the central bank will “proceed carefully,” emphasizing the “need to be nimble in responding to incoming data and the evolving outlook.”
The Fed chief also noted he’s inclined to back a quarter-point hike in March — in line with market expectations — and is open to “series of rate increases” in 2022.
Comments:
* “It is worth pointing out the great stress he placed, again, on being data-driven and nimble. Whereas a few weeks ago, that might have meant a very dynamic approach to inflation, it is quite likely this now means keeping a close eye on the economic growth numbers, said Jeanette Garretty, managing director at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management.
* “In light of the Chair’s testimony, and events so far this week, we retain our monetary policy outlook, which anticipates five 25bp hikes to the policy rate in 2022, starting in March.  We continue to expect a plan for (passive) balance-sheet normalization to be announced in May, and to be implemented in June,” said Barclays economists, led by Michael Gapen.  Earlier Wednesday, Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard called for a “rapid withdrawal of policy accommodation,” while his Chicago counterpart Charles Evans said monetary policy is currently “wrong-footed” and needs to be upwardly adjusted toward neutrality.
Russia’s invasion was denounced by the United Nations General Assembly, underscoring Moscow’s increasing isolation on the global stage, as U.S. authorities weighed restrictions on imports.
The Russian military’s advance continued, while Ukraine said it will take part in a second round of talks with Moscow on Thursday.
The U.S. will postpone a Minuteman-III intercontinental ballistic missile test planned for this week to show restraint after President Vladimir Putin raised Russia’s nuclear alert level over the weekend, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
In U.S. corporate news, Citigroup Inc. said profitability will fall as the bank pursues a strategy shift that will raise expenses in the near term.
Nordstrom Inc. soared after the retailer’s sales and guidance topped expectations.
Ford Motor Co. will separate its electric-vehicle operations from its legacy combustion-engine business in a historic reorganization of the 118-year-old company.
Sell-side analysts in the U.S. are getting more nervous about earnings forecasts, with profit revisions turning most negative since May 2020.
Downgrades are now outweighing upgrades as the war in Ukraine, rising oil prices and policy tightening may weigh on economic growth.
What to watch this week:
* ECB publishes the account of its February meeting, Thursday
* Eurozone Markit services PMI, PPI, unemployment, Thursday
* U.S. factory orders, initial jobless claims, U.S. durable goods, Thursday
* U.S. unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%
* The MSCI World index rose 1.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1123
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3403
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 115.54 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 17 basis points to 1.90%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 0.03%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 13 basis points to 1.26%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7.5% to $111.20 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.8% to $1,929 an ounce
–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Sunil Jagtiani, Andreea Papuc, Vildana Hajric, Peyton Forte and Emily Graffeo.

Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. -Rabbi Sidney Greenberg, 1918-2003.

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com